In Luke 4:16, Jesus comes to Nazareth, to the synagogue in the town where he’d been brought up. He stands up to read, someone gives him a scroll, he unrolls it and finds a particular verse, gives the scroll back to the attendant, and sits back down.
Vine Journal features longer articles and essays that convey the best of cross-centred theological thinking, applied to real-world evangelical ministry.
Would you like to be able to present a clear and memorable overview of the Bible to others?
Now the first reaction to the title of this piece might be “What! How can anyone say they stand perfectly obedient before God?” On one level, this is the right reaction. How can anyone claim such a thing, knowing the place of sin in the human heart?
If I try to be intentionally humble I can go pretty well—to a point. But the second I think “I can feel myself changing, I think I’m getting more humble”, I’ve blown it.
Are you gearing up for Christmas at your church? Of course, you know you’re going to get lots of visitors—people who don’t normally come to church at all. Whether they come to a carol service or Christmas Day services, or some other Christmas outreach event, you expect to see
FRONT: happy Xmas INSIDE: Have a happy Xmas! (remember what the X is for) And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Philippians 2:8 Pack of 10 cards with envelopes.
So I had long service leave for the first time this year. “How did that happen?” I asked myself, before hurtling back to reality as I remembered first my years of single ministry, rapidly followed by a church plant, getting married, becoming a rector, welcoming two small people into our world, leading a growing church, and dealing with the reality of struggling marriages and bodies ravaged by cancer.
I've been thinking about waiting. The waiting you do when your hopes and dreams have been deferred—again. The waiting you do when you're offered the opportunity you longed for but have to turn it down—again. The waiting you do when the future is uncertain and your plans can only be tentative and provisional—again.
Once your evangelistic course is over, what happens next?